Twisted Turns
by ErinMilne
Summary: Deep in the Subconscious, twisted selves of the emotions reign supreme. The Extreme Emotions are rulers, but also prisoners - until one blowout too many from Anger sets a chain of events into action that will forever intertwine the lives of the two groups, for better or much worse. The Mind will never be the same...
1. Chapter 1: Blind Fury

Logic was having a hard time believing her eyes.

She'd turned around for a second, to make sure the Manuals were nicely organized, and what did she find waiting for her but Anger manning to console solo, her hair in flames and screaming like it was the apocalypse. Short-Term Memory had gained more than a few ember-red memories. Fear lay crumpled in a corner, whimpering and clutching her side, as if in pain. The other emotions cowered by the idea shelves, Sadness blubbering into Joy's dress. Outside, loud voices (including Sarah's) shouted insults and accusation. Daughter Island was running - and how.

Logic knew that Sarah had been having a "discussion" with her mother about whether or not she was pulling her weight and reaching her full potential. Logic had known exactly what to say in order to end the lecture, and she'd been doing just that with the assistance of Fear and, at some points, Sadness. Joy had stood ready to help take over once they could escape and Loner Island activated.

Anger was undoing everything Logic had done up to that point. At the rate she was going, Sarah would be grounded for life if this continued.

"Anger."

The brick either didn't hear Logic or pretended not to. "You did not just say that, you lying hypocrite!" she yelled beyond the screen at Sarah's mother.

"Anger..."

"Ever heard of a little thing called empathy? Ever considered that people besides yourself have thoughts and feelings?"

" _Anger!_ "

Headquarters fell silent. Logic rarely raised her voice, so the emotions knew that things were about to happen, and they doubted they would be good. Anger whirled around and stared Logic right in the eye. "What is it, Jigsaw Jones?" she said with an edge.

"First, you know I hate that nickname, even if my body shape is that of a puzzle piece," Logic responded icilly. "Second, I have never seen such blatant disrespect in all my days. You, Anger, keep causing more trouble than you're worth. You are the main reason Sarah gets into trouble. You need to be taught a lesson."

"Make me!" Anger snapped.

Logic turned to her fellow emotions. "Sadness, go help Fear," she ordered. "Disgust, go find some rope or something similar. You can use some spare clothing if you need to, we just need to immobilize Anger for the moment. Joy, call the Train of Thought and tell them we have a delivery for them, and ask them to take it to the Subconscious."

Anger paled at the mention of the Subconscious as the other emotions scattered to do Logic's bidding. "You.. you wouldn't," she stammered, moving backwards. "No one's allowed in the Subconscious. You don't have any authority..."

"It's only for twenty-four hours," Logic explained, "or until you choose to admit the error of your ways. I said you needed to be taught a lesson, and I meant it. Sadness, how is she?"

"It looks like just a bruise," Sadness explained. "It's big, though. It's going to take a while to heal. Come on, Fear, I'll help you to the apartments."

"Thank you so much," Fear gasped as Sadness helped her up.

Joy hung up the phone and announced, "They're on their way. Shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes."

"Good. Anger, again, this is only temporary. Just until you can behave yourself."

"Fine. I'll go. But only because I want to."

"That's better."

* * *

"Yes, Grinch, I'm well aware of the growing animosity between Poetown and Burtonville. Perhaps if we arranged for - hold on. *click* Ecstasy, this had better be good, because I am in the middle of a meeting."

 _Sorry, ma'am, wasn't aware. The Stem just called - there's going to be a delivery from the Train of Thought soon._

"Well. That _is_ good. Did they provide further details?"

 _It's from Headquarters, and should be here in about a half-hour. Oh, there was something about discipline that I didn't quite get._

"Excellent. Alert Rage and Envy, would you? We're going to need to prepare a welcoming committee. Send them to my office for further instruction."

 _Will do, ma'am._

"Thank you, Ecstasy. That will be all. *click* Looks like there's been a - shall I say - derailment in our plans for the day? Perhaps the time has come to finally put my plans in motion..."


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome To Your Nightmares

Joy pressed her face against the thick glass window in the back of Headquarters, watching as the Train of Thought chugged off in the direction of the Subconscious. Anger, still tied up, had been hefted into one of those boxcars, all set to be dropped off at the gates of the Subconscious for however long she was going to be there. Logic had said a full day, but it might be more or less. She was usually willing to modify consequences to accommodate circumstances.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Sadness whimpered, recalling her own visit to the dark, mysterious Subconscious from that past month.

"I think so," Fear noted. "I mean, nothing here in the Mind has the potential to kill. She'll be alive - probably traumatized, but nevertheless alive."

"As long as she doesn't burn everything first," Disgust muttered under her breath.

Logic sighed, "The break is over, guys. Let's get back to work. Disgust, the food in this container has been there for several days without refrigeration."

"What?! That's rancid! Move over, Logic!" Joy, Sadness, and Fear shared a chuckle as Disgust shoved aside her coworker and started pushing buttons in order to contort Sarah's face into a grimace.

* * *

Anger pushed herself up from where she had been unceremoniously dumped into the Subconscious by the workers from the Train of Thought. The omnipresent stench of eggs hit her before anything else did. Once her eyes grew used to the dark, Anger wiggled free from her loosened bonds and looked around. Not much to see - just a bunch of leafless trees. _Why is Sarah even scared by this?_

"Well, you're finally here. Took them long enough." Anger knew that voice all too well. She turned around slowly, unwilling to cast eyes on the _creature_ more than necessary. She started with the feet - green and furry. She moved up to the paunched belly, then the crooked yellow smile and the sinister, buglike red eyes.

"Grinch. _So_ nice to see you."

"Your sarcasm is flattering. But there's someone who wants to meet you, so come with me, please."

"Yeah, like I'm going to follow the monster under the bed to something that's probably going to scar me for life."

"I'm not alone." Glowing yellow eyes appeared all around the two. " _Now_ are you coming?"

Anger groaned and rolled her eyes. "You think I'm scared of a few little lights? Do I _look_ purple to you?"

The Grinch snapped his long, furry fingers. A wolflike creature emerged from the shadows, eyes full of unbridled rage. The creature padded slowly closer to Anger, leaning onto its hind legs and preparing to pounce.

"Still not scared..."

The wolf leaped at the brick-like girl. Anger tried to counter the attack, but the wolf had the speed and dexterity to match Anger's brute strength. Anger was unable to get away in time to avoid the wolf catching her stubby arm in its jaws. Anger let out a slight cry of pain, but that cry did not reflect how she really felt. There must have been venom or something in the wolf's bite, because it stung worse than anything she'd ever experienced before. Bee stings and needle pricks were tiny taps compared to this bite.

"It's painfully obvious that you're new here," the Grinch explained with a sinister grin, showing off every last one of his disgusting teeth. "Nothing here will kill you, but there's plenty of things that will make you wish you were dead. Now come with me, or it only gets worse from here."

"Fine," Anger winced. "Just get this stupid wolf away from me!" Tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

At another snap from the Grinch's fingers, the wolf melted back into the shadows. The pain was still there, but Anger could move again. She collapsed to her knees again, breathing heavily. The Grinch's grin only widened.


	3. Chapter 3: Be Our Guest

Anger refused to make eye contact with the Grinch as he led her through the Subconscious. Not after that stunt he had pulled with the wolf. She didn't trust him, and doubted she ever would. Sarah had been in second grade when the Grinch had entered the Subconscious, but he hadn't left since. He obviously knew the place well, guiding Anger through thickets of tall, thin, leafless trees, around rusted, abandoned bicycles, past enormous hens and roosters. All around her, she heard noises - screams, mostly, and howls. Of course, the clucking of those infernal birds. Evil laughter, straight out of "Be Prepared". And although Anger had gotten used to the rotten-egg odor surrounding her, it was still impossible to ignore.

"Here we are."

Anger stopped short, gazing up at the building before her. At first glance, a hotel, but Anger knew better. The burn marks near the top of the front wing, the crooked, flickering letters, the ominous thunderclaps - these told all. This was none other than the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

"I suppose we're going in?" she asked calmly, masking her pounding heart.

The Grinch grinned again, a bug or two scrambling over his rotting teeth. "Naturally. It's been a while since you were down here, hasn't it?"

"I'm not talking to you," Anger growled as she stepped toward the crooked front doors of the Tower. The inside was wrapped in thick layers of cobwebs and dust over such ordinary objects as cards, suitcases, and dolls. _Disgust would flip her lid here_ , Anger thought with an inward chuckle.

"Mr. Grinch, you're back earlier than expected." Anger turned to take a look at the speaker, who sat at the long desk in front of the elevators. She reminded her of Joy, except for her prim, proper outfit, longish black hair, darker yellow particles, and the longing look in her big blue eyes.

"She was more cooperative than we anticipated," the Grinch responded.

Anger snapped, "I'm right here, y'know!"

The Grinch ignored her and continued, "Tell Terror we'll be on our way up."

"Yes, sir."

The Grinch ushered Anger through a door into an equally dusty and cobwebby library, and from there into the boiler room. Orbs and pipes hissed with steam as the two made their way along grated paths. Soon enough, the rusty elevator doors loomed before them.

"Aren't the stairs an option?" Anger asked.

The Grinch shook his head. "The stairs are for authorized personnel only. Besides, we're going straight to the top." As if on cue, the doors creaked open, revealing a small, dimly lit room filled with boxes. The Grinch gestured for Anger to enter, which she did with a roll of her eyes. After he enters, the doors closed, and the elevator began to ascend.

Anger knew exactly what to expect, but wanted some form of protection. There didn't seem to be any form of restraint. The Grinch simply sat on top of a box.

Wait... the boxes...

Anger slipped into an open box and secured the lid from the inside - quite a task, but she completed it. There, in total darkness, she waited for the event that gave the Tower its nickname.

It happened before she could blink.

A deafening boom. A flash of heat.

Then, the drop.

Safe in her box, Anger could feel herself being pummeled from wall to wall. She heard the clattering of the other boxes, but, oddly enough, no sound from the Grinch. _Surprise_ , she thought as she bounced around _._ _He's probably used to this._

Eventually, the pounding and motion stopped. The lid of the box came off, and Anger was again making eye contact with the Grinch. "Enjoy your ride?" he sneered.

"Don't talk to me," Anger groaned, clambering out of the box and out of the elevator. She was surprised to be gazing upon a modern-looking, clean hotel hallway. The Grinch started heading down the hall. Anger, curious as to what this was all about, followed in his furry footsteps.

Another pair of double doors stood at the end of the hallway. Just as Anger and the Grinch approached, two figures exited through the doors. One, a thin, skeletal man, was impeccably dressed in a pinstripe tux, while the other, clearly human, had the clothing and facial expressions of a clear madman. The second stalked down the hall toward the elevator, but the first turned to the Grinch.

"Terror says she wants this discussion to be as private as possible," said the skeleton. "She'll send for you when they're done."

"Thank you, Jack," replied the Grinch. As the skeleton - Jack, apparently, likely Skellington - turned on his heel, the Grinch nudged open the door. "You heard him," he told Anger.

Anger groaned, but entered. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light - this place was even dimmer than the elevator. When she could see again, Anger noticed a figure sitting behind an office desk. She looked an awful lot like Fear, but, again, was dressed nicer, had black hair, darker particles, and an expression that did not match whatever her name was.

"Welcome to the Subconscious, Anger," she said in a smooth, silky voice. "Please, have a seat." She gestured to a chair facing the desk. Anger plonked herself down in the chair and crossed her arms.

"I take it you've gotten yourself into a bit of trouble in Headquarters, hmm?" She pressed her fingers together.

Anger leaned forward. "Who are you and why am I here?" she demanded.

"Getting straight to the point, I see," said the figure with the hint of a smile. "An excellent quality. I take it you have many such questions, but we don't have time to answer them all right now. For the moment, you may call me Terror. And you're here because I require your assistance."

Anger leaned back into her chair, satisfied. Terror continued. "I need you to get me into Headquarters."

"And why would I do that?"

Terror's smiled slowly spread. "Because I can offer you what your so-called friends cannot."

"Look, if this is about money, I don't need any - "

"I'm not talking about money. I'm talking about _power_."

Anger's eyes widened. Terror nodded and continued, "You spend the least amount of time at the console of any of the emotions, Logic included. I know you try to grasp as much time as you can - to no avail. They continually push you away, keeping your girl subservient and subordinate. Is this true?"

Anger nodded.

"Without you, how is poor Sarah going to know when her circumstances are unfair? When others tell her. She'll be a helpless pawn, unable to control her own destiny."

"But what can you do to change that?"

Terror left her seat and began to pace. "I have plans for the Mind, Anger. Plans that have been years in the making. The only thing standing in my way is Headquarters and the irrelevant hierarchy the emotions have set up for themselves. And once those plans have been set into motion, you will be at my side."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. I'm going to need someone who knows Sarah closely, what makes her tick, what parts of the Mind are important to her. The other emotions would never agree to this, I know that. So if you agree to help me, I'll give you the power they've been denying you. You'll have the console all to yourself. How does that sound?"

Anger needed no prompting. "I'm in."

"I knew I could count on you," smiled Terror as the door opened and a darker version of Anger walked in. "You wanted to see me?" said the newcomer.

Terror's eyebrows raised. "Perfect timing. Anger, this is Rage, your Extreme counterpart. Here's what I need you to do..."

Thunder boomed outside the Tower.


	4. Chapter 4: Secret Identity

"Anger's back!" Joy sang out as the bell above the delivery hatch chimed a three-note pattern ("You've got mail!"). She dashed away from her position at the console and over to the hatch, where Anger was crawling through. Unable to contain her exuberance, she grabbed Anger by the hands and attempted, with limited success, to swing her around. "Welcome home, Anger!"

"Get your hands off me!" Anger snapped, steam rising from the top of her head. Joy knew she'd already had a trying day, dealing with the Subconscious and all, so she refrained from the original welcome she'd been hoping for and instead dragged Anger back to the front of the main control room. The other emotions, who were occupied in tidying up the main control room for the night, eyed Anger apprehensively, especially Fear, who still wore a bandage over the bruise she'd received that morning. Logic ignored Anger completely, keeping her focus solely on the POV monitor and Sarah's chosen bedtime reading - tonight, a few chapters of a biography of Ben Franklin. Joy couldn't blame them for their behavior, especially considering the morning's incident. But Anger was an integral part of Team Sarah - no one could deny that. If Joy helped Sarah find the light in life, Anger was the one who lit the spark. Without her drive, half of Sarah's Core Memories would be nonexistent. And even if she didn't get along with the others sometimes, part of Joy's job as lead emotion was to keep the team running smoothly, so she kind of had to at least pretend to like Anger.

Speaking of doing her job, Joy noted that Sarah's Pep Meter was at the "Sleep Now" level. "Looks like it's officially bedtime," she decided aloud. "Logic, since you're already at the console, can you put Sarah to bed - y'know, get the room ready? You're the only one the console will accept at the Pep Level we're at."

"Already taking care of it," Logic assured Joy as the lights in the room before them flashed off and the cool breeze of the fan began pulsing through.

"Perfect! Disgust, whose turn is it for Dream Duty?"

Disgust glanced at the chart that Logic had created to prevent arguments over whose turn it was. "Let's see, it's Sunday night, Anger's turn."

"Awesome! Anger can stay behind, then. Fear-"

"Already on it!" Fear stomped on the Suction button in the floor, sending the colorful array of the day's memories (mostly yellow, but with nice large patches of everything but red) along the Short-Term Memory shelves, through tubes in the floor, and into the steady stream of the suction tube. Joy smiled brightly as she gazed at the display, as she always did. While she hadn't been responsible for every memory made, nor did she wish to be. Nope, Joy was never happier than when every moving part clicked together to make Sarah's life absolutely perfect.

It made her proud to be a Joy.

* * *

Fear gave the dial on her combination lock one last spin, having stowed her trusty clipboard inside the locker for the night. Finally, after the trials and tribulation of having to make it through the day while injured, she had the chance to relax with a good book, or maybe a song or two on her guitar.

Out of the corner of her ear, Fear heard a soft 8-bit version of "Revolting Children" - Anger's ringtone. Who could possibly be calling Anger now? Sarah was asleep, so most Mind Workers and Characters were busy with their own matters, which usually didn't involve Anger. This was suspicious.

Fear continued to listen as Anger answered the ringing phone. "Hello?" said Anger casually. "Yeah, I made it back. No one suspects a thing… Right now, actually. I'll let you in as soon as the elevator's free… Fear? She's always been early to bed, early to rise. Trust me, she'll be sound asleep… It'll be good to have her out of my hair for once. You'll be a great replacement!" Here, Anger laughed, a snigger that added a few loops to the writing knot in Fear's stomach. "See you soon, then…"

Fear had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying out in shock. She had overheard a plot to get rid of her! This was something straight out of her crime novels! Fear took a few deep breaths, attempting to calm herself, and finished up at her locker, walking away as if nothing had happened. She still couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with Anger. First, she had physically harmed her. Now she was plotting to kidnap her - or worse! She needed protection…

Fear carefully approached Joy, who was leading their fellow emotions to the elevator. "Hey, Joy," she whispered nervously. "If it's all right with you… Could I maybe hang out in your room tonight?"

Joy's eyes lit up. "Of course it's all right with me!" she gushed. "We haven't had a proper sleepover in so long. You'll need a minute or two to get ready, right?"

"Sure…" But not a long one, Fear thought with an internal sigh of relief. For the moment, she was saved from Anger's plot.

It felt nice to have a Joy for a friend sometimes.

* * *

Joy drew another Would You Rather card and scanned it. "Here's a good one: Would You Rather marry a bully or a whiner?"

"What? Oh, whiner. Definitely whiner." Fear's eyes continued to dart around the room as she drew her next card. Joy could see the purple hand shaking as it grasped the card.

"Are you okay?" Joy couldn't help asking. "You're jumpier than usual, Fear. Too much lemonade at dinner, or what?"

Fear answered with a bright smile, "Nah, I'm perfectly fine! It's just… I thought I heard something earlier. It's fine, it's fine. Okay. Would You Rather fall from 50 feet onto a giant air mattress or a giant pile of whipped cream?"

Joy had to think about that one. While the whipped cream would be both delicious and dense enough to support her fall, she wouldn't be able to breathe during the descent to the ground. The air mattress wouldn't have that problem, but Joy doubted she would be able to fall the exact way you were supposed to land on one of those things. She was about to ask Fear, the resident safely expert, her opinion when Fear let out a yelp, eyes locked on the elevator lights. They slowly traveled up, from the grey (Logic's room) to the purple (Fear's) to the white (the main control room). Fear dashed into Joy's wardrobe before the star could blink. After an awkward moment of silence, the yellow light flashed on and the doors opened, revealing Anger.

"Hey, Joy - have you seen Fear?" Anger inquired.

Joy nodded, but made no movement to indicate Fear's location. The last time Fear had interacted with Anger, she'd ended up with a massive bruise, after all!

"Do you know where she is?"

'Yeah… why do you ask?"

"There's something for her in the main control room."

"But the Train of Thought doesn't run while Sarah's asleep…"

"Where. Is. Fear?" A darkness passed over Anger's features and into her voice as she spat out the words.

Joy simply shook her head. "Anger, it's late, we're all tired, and if there really is anything for Fear, she can pick it up in the morning. G'night!" With that, Joy slipped into her cozy bed. Anger, however, didn't leave. Instead, she marched over to the wardrobe and threw open the double doors. "Wait!" Joy cried out, but it was too late.

"Found you." Fear was shivering and whimpering, clutching one of Joy's dresses so tightly it nearly fell off the hanger. Anger ripped her away from the dress, ripping the dress itself in the process, and dragged her over to the elevator. Joy threw off her covers, leaped over the abandoned Would You Rather cards, and slid into the elevator just before the doors closed.

"Joy-" Fear gasped before Anger clapped a meaty hand over her mouth.

"Quiet, you," Anger snapped. 'You've already dragged Joy into this, and you won't be doing anything else. Stay calm, and this'll be as painless as possible. Got it?"

Fear whimpered, but nodded weakly.

"Anger, what's going on?" Joy whispered. "You're not acting like yourself. Are you sleepwalking?"

Anger smiled slyly at Joy. "Oh, trust me, Joy, I'm wide awake…" Joy shuddered upon seeing the creepy grin.

The elevator doors opened to reveal the main control room. Without the bright glow of the screen, or the gleaming memories, the room was draped in deep shadows, illuminated only by the faraway-seeming lights of the Personality Islands, Long-Term Memory, and other zones of the Mind. Anger dragged Fear down the ramp and to the center of the room, then called out, "She's all yours!"

A figure slipped out from the shadows bounding the room. With her deep purple particles and pure black clothing, she seemed almost like a shadow herself, but her body shape was that of a Fear. Joy peeked at the scene from behind the railing, intrigued and eager to see what was really going on.

"We meet at last, Fear," said Living Shadow (Joy was gonna call her that for now) in a silky, dark voice. "It's good to see you again, I must say."

"Who… wha… who are you?" Fear stammered, sitting up slightly but ready to back away at any moment.

Living Shadow smiled softly. "Really, Fear, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out already. Well, we can't all be Logic, I suppose. I am Terror, ruler of the Subconscious - and soon, the Mind."

A string of frantic gibberish left Fear's mouth. Joy couldn't blame her for being tongue-tied in the presence of the legendary Terror. All the emotions had been convinced she was just a story Mind Worker kids were told when they weren't behaving themselves, but anything was possible in Sarah's mind. Terror calmly raised a hand, and Fear's stammers ended as swiftly as they had begun.

"That's better," said Terror. "Now relax. This won't take long…" With that, Terror gently took Fear's hands. Fear winced, and Terror grinned devilishly. All of a sudden, Fear jerked her hands out of Terror's grasp, delivered a flawless karate kick to her gut - memorizing all the now-forgotten memories of Sarah's karate lessons had apparently paid off - and made a mad dash up the ramp.

"Well, don't just stand there! After her!" Terror and Anger raced up after Fear, but Joy leaped between Fear and her pursuers, declaring, "As Sarah's Lead Emotion, I demand an explanation for this behavior!"

"You fool, you're ruining everything!" Anger exclaimed, attempting to rush at Fear, who cowered behind Joy.

Terror blocked her path with an arm and sighed, "Relax, Hatred, we can work with this."

"Hatred?" Joy gasped as she and Fear inched backward. "You can't possibly mean…"

"Oh, that's right, my little ray of sunshine. The Anger you knew is no more. By performing the Merge with my associate Rage, she has turned her back on the life she was being offered here… in favor of more power than you'll ever know."

Anger - Hatred, apparently - smirked, her particles shifting ever-so-slightly. They landed on a shade of red - not quite crimson, but noticeably darker. Her hair and eyes did the same. Behind Joy, Fear whispered, "The Merge thing she mentioned - Terror was trying to do that with me. It would have been disastrous. It looks like Anger and Rage only combined into one being with elements of both, but I would have been completely absorbed into Terror - she'd get even more powerful, and I'd lose my sense of self completely." The nerve was still shaking as she clutched Joy's shoulder.

"Don't you worry," Joy whispered back in a hopefully-reassuring tone. "I won't let her do that to you. I promise."

"What's that?" asked Terror with a smirk.

Joy fixed a determined gaze upon Terror and said proudly, "I said Fear is never going to Merge with you, as long as I have anything to say about it!"

"Fine," Terror replied calmly. "I suppose we'll just have to go about this differently…" As Joy looked into Terror's deep violet eyes, her heart began to pick up its pace. Her head throbbed with the rhythm of her heartbeat. She wanted desperately to run away, but her limbs were frozen. She couldn't move. Fear's voice seemed distant as she screamed out a warning of some sort; Joy could barely make out the words "Project" and "careful". She watched in horror as Hatred grabbed Fear again and dragged her down the ramp. Terror activated the suction tube, and Fear shrieked as she was unceremoniously tossed into the stream of outgoing air and carried away through the roof of Headquarters. As the tube retracted, Joy snapped out of the spell.

"What did you do to her? What did you do to me?" she demanded, racing down to the floor.

Terror pressed her fingers together. "I didn't wish to use Projection on you, but you left me no choice. As for Fear, I only sent her to a little place we both know…"

Joy may not have been Logic, but she connected the dots. "She'll never be able to handle the Subconscious!" she gasped.

"That's what we're counting on," Hatred replied.

Joy crossed her arms. "You guys are pure evil."

Terror smiled. "Thank you, Joy. Now, I'm going to need you to pay attention." Terror slowly circled Joy, who made a show of looking at anything in the room but Terror. "Things are going to change around here. For starters, if Fear's going to be in the Subconscious for an extended period of time - and mark my words, she will be - Sarah's still going to need all of her emotions…" In the blink of an eye, a carbon copy of Fear stood in Terror's place - but wearing an expression that should never be seen on a Fear, and still speaking in Terror's villainous voice. "I'll be filling in for Fear, and taking over as lead emotion. That will require that you cede control of the console to me or Hatred whenever possible. You won't object to any decisions made by either of us. And you won't let the other emotions know the truth. If you cooperate, you'll continue to live comfortably in Headquarters. If not, well, Fear could always use company… Am I clear?"

"No way am I agreeing to all that," Joy spat. "I'll never let you waltz in here and take over HQ. Sarah's my girl. It's my job to give her the best life I can - not to let you twist her forever!"

Terror chuckled. "I don't think we understand each other. Let me explain things to you…" Terror raised a hand, and suddenly, a rooster materialized near the Core Memory podium. Joy screeched - among other things, a fear of chickens was one thing she and Sarah shared.

"Listen well, Joy," Terror continued. "You may think you hold the power in this situation, but I can assure you, you do not. _I_ hold the power here. I can leave more of an impact on this Mind than you ever will. And let's not forget - I can see what you fear most. So stay out of my way, or you will regret it. Now am I clear?"

A defeated Joy hung her head and nodded. She felt she had no other choice.

Terror smiled. "Good girl. Now, off to bed with you. Hatred and I have some things we wish to discuss…" Joy slowly turned and made her way back to the elevator, mind racing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Terror and Hatred approaching the Core Memory podium, just as the door closed.

 _There's gotta be a silver lining to all this,_ Joy thought. _Okay. Terror specifically said I couldn't tell the other emotions about what's going on… But she never said anything about other mind residents! I can tell my Mind Worker or Character pals about Terror. Maybe they can help me come up with something. And there's another thing - I'll have a front-row seat to Terror's takeover, so I can directly plan a defense without having to guess what her next step will be. And even if I do land myself in the Subconscious, all the better to bust Fear out. Terror won't know what hit her… hopefully…_

Once she got back to her room, Joy hopped over the Would You Rather cards and into her bed. She pulled up the covers, closed her eyes, and began to drift away. As she started to sleep, she heard a faraway voice, familiar and yet alien, relieved and desperate, in the same breath.

 _Help me..._


	5. Chapter 5: Hello Darkness

Joy opened her eyes. Nothing met them. Literally.

She was standing in an expanse of grey that went on for as far as she could see. Her own glowing aura, although it had faded significantly since Puberty had struck, provided a bit of light, but there was hardly anything there to illuminate. Joy was able to recognize this landscape from previous dreams. This dream was turning out to be kind of boring so far.

 _Help me..._

Or perhaps not.

The cry she'd fallen asleep hearing had returned, weak and distant, but just ahead of her. Joy broke into a brisk trot towards the mysterious cry. As she ran, an even fainter glow than her own revealed itself. Joy slowed her pace and continued towards that glow. A figure slowly took shape. It was humanoid, but tightly curled into a ball. Soft whimpers - the precursors of full-blown sobs - escaped from the little bundle. More details unveiled themselves as Joy came closer. The figure's arms, wrapped tightly around its knees, appeared to consist of particles. These particles, though, were a shade of yellow. Long black hair blanketed most of the body. The face was completely hidden.

"Um, are you okay?" Joy asked quietly.

The figure looked up, revealing a close-to-carbon copy of Joy's own face. Tears filled her deep blue eyes, which widened instantly upon seeing Joy.

"Who are you?" the girl whimpered. "Are you... an angel?"

Joy couldn't help but giggle. "No, silly! I'm just Joy. I heard you crying and... wanted to help out, you know?"

"No one can help me..." The girl began to cry again. Joy half-wished Sadness would find her way into this dream - Sadness was the resident expert on tears, after all. Joy eventually sat down beside the girl.

"No need to cry," Joy ventured. "It's gonna be okay."

The girl shook her head, tears still flowing freely. "Please... just leave me be," she gasped. "I have to hide this during the day, dreams are my only respite..."

"At least tell me your name," Joy suggested. "If things are that bad for you, maybe I can help you out in reality." _And you can help me_ , she added silently.

"I'm Ecstacy. I live in the Subconscious, so good luck finding me. I'm a worthless Extreme who can't even do anything..." The tears were literally making puddles on the ground by this point. Joy was starting to get uncomfortable, but knew she'd found an opportunity.

"Can I ask you to do something for me?" Joy ventured. Ecstacy nodded, which was a good sign. "There's a friend of mine who'll be in the Subconscious soon. You'll know her when you see her. If you can, give her a message from me."

"I think I can do that," said Ecstacy, perking up considerably.

Joy took a deep breath. "Tell her I'm doing everything I can to get her back where she belongs, and I'll just need a little time. If it goes as planned, you'll be out of the Subconscious yourself. Sound good?"

Ecstacy smiled for the first time. "Sounds great."

* * *

"Ah, the Core Memories," sighed Hatred almost wistfully as the podium spiraled up. "Joy's prized possessions, the crown jewels of the Mind, yadda yadda yadda."

Terror gazed in awe at the gleaming orbs, brighter than any she'd ever seen in her life. So this was what she'd been missing. Even the brightest Subconscious Memories were lifeless rocks compared to these. 'Crown jewels' was a fitting term.

Terror twisted the podium until her eyes fixed upon a solid blue memory. The image inside showed a ten-year-old Sarah sitting on an unmade bed, hugging a teddy bear and bawling her eyes out. "Greif Island," Hatred answered the unspoken question. "Sarah lost her dad and never really got over it. If you want to claim the CMs, that one's a good place to start. The Island could use some rejuvenation anyway."

Terror smiled darkly. "As much as I would adore claiming this right away," she said, "I'd rather not arouse suspicion immediately. Better to make it a gradual process..." She laid her palms on the memory and closed her eyes. Almost instantly, her essence was aroused, coursing through her into the memory. When she opened her eyes, a thin stripe of purple, nearly invisible to an unaware eye, had wrapped itself around the orb. Outside, the Island itself had shifted slightly. The single statue of Sarah embracing her father was now surrounded by what appeared to be tiny gravestones. Again, from this distance, one could barely tell. "Perfect," said Terror with another smile. "A subtle change, really, but enough to establish a hold in Headquarters.

"I must warn you," Hatred added, "Greif Island really is on its last legs. Joy's changed a lot of memories of Sarah's dad back to yellow. The loss isn't really affecting her anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if it collapses within a month."

"Exactly why I started with it," Terror clarified. "It shouldn't affect the important aspects of Sarah's personality, but it will allow me some more prominence. And I can always claim the others eventually, can't I?"

"Good thinking," Hatred admitted. "But you'll have to convince everyone you belong here first. Let me fill you in on how things operate..."

Terror sat down in a swivel chair, spun around, and pressed her fingers together. "Please do."

* * *

Fear bounced like a pinball through the hollow tubes, yelping with every impact. As she was beaten up physically, she beat herself up mentally. How could she have been so stupid? The wardrobe was the most obvious hiding spot in Joy's room - heck, maybe even in all of Headquarters - and she should have known that. Under the bed would have been so much safer. She was just lucky that Joy had bluffed for as long as she had. And trying to fight back against Terror, of all people? _Terror?!_ The equivalent of freaking Maleficent?! Worst idea _ever_. Fear had made herself one powerful enemy. An enemy who would stop at nothing to remove her from the equation entirely. The Subconscious was only the beginning. Besides, if there was anyone she should have confronted right away, it was Anger - no, Hatred now. She should have raised the alarm as soon as she'd heard that stupid phone ring. Granted, no one would have believed her, but it would have derailed Hatred and Terror's plans - and made herself even more of a target.

Well, either way, Fear had picked the wrong path, and she couldn't just flip back to page nine and start all over. She was paying the price for her stupid mistakes. Unceremoniously ejected from Headquarters, now headed to who-knew-where, with little to no chance of a safe return.

Suddenly, Fear felt suction give way to gravity, and before she could yelp again, she was buried waist-deep in a pile of the day's memories.

And she wasn't alone.

Surrounding the bin on every side, creatures Fear knew all too well. Monsters and villains from Sarah's worst nightmares, most mounted on beady-eyed, bloodthirsty, probably-equipped-with-lasers chickens. Fear shuddered as she gazed around at the crowd. Where had they come from? What did they want with her?

She was getting the feeling she was about to find out, whether she wanted to or not.

"Ah, good evening, Fear. We've been expecting you."

Fear's heart skipped a beat. She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"No... it can't be..." she stammered. "G-g-Grinch?"

The greenish creature grinned in a way that churned Fear's stomach. "It most certainly is. And now that the matter of identity has been settled, we have a job to do. E.T., if you will?"

A short, squat pile of folded skin waddled up to the edge of the bin, extending a glowing finger towards Fear's forehead. Fear knew exactly what was meant by this. When Sarah's mother had selected the film for Movie Night two years ago, Joy had tried to help Sarah enjoy the classic, but Fear had quickly taken over. E.T. was terrifying, but not simply because of his appearance (although that may have been a factor). No, what had secured a memory of the little alien in the Subconscious was his apparent psychic power. The Subconscious version had taken this to an extreme, as Fear had dreaded and was now about to experience.

"No," Fear gasped. "Please - please, no... don't - you can't - no!" It was too late. The finger had made contact. Fear blacked out.


	6. Chapter 6: This Was My Home

Joy blinked her eyes open, slowly registering that she was in bed and the cuckoo clock on the wall was active. The little birdie chirped out a happy melody - something from _The Sound of Music,_ Joy couldn't tell or care at this point. She sat herself up, stretching this way and that. She ached - last night had been a restless one. What had she dreamed about? There had been a dream about another Joy… and then, before that one, a less memorable dream. The details were fuzzy. Fear had been involved in that one - no, two Fears, and one of them was evil… oh, and Anger had been there. The details of that dream were foggy, but then again, thinking about that dream gave her a funny feeling, something telling her to dwell on that particular dream as little as possible. With this mantra in mind, Joy rolled out of bed, stepping on the Would You Rather cards - oh yeah, she had been playing Would You Rather with Fear last night, she remembered that much. Where even was Fear? She'd probably gone back to her own room after Joy had fallen asleep.

Once Joy had visited her wardrobe (why was the Little Black Dress ripped? No matter, she'd break out the sewing machine to fix it before she wore it next) and selected a particularly cute dress, a short, silky affair of lavender and white with a matching lacy top, to wear for the day, she turned her attention to the elevator. The lights flashed on and off before the doors opened before her. A rumble in Joy's stomach decided her destination for her: the kitchen, where she could grab a little something to eat and energize herself for the next couple of hours.

Fear was already in the kitchen when Joy got there, having seated herself at the little round table, flipping through the Mind Reader while munching on half of a cinnamon raisin bagel. Joy gave her a little wave as she walked past her. The toasted bagel smelled absolutely divine, but Joy wanted something a little more substantial for her breakfast. She stepped over to the cupboard and nudged the door open. The Honey Bunches of Oats looked particularly nice this morning, so she reached for the open box.

"Good morning to you, too, Joy."

Joy stopped short, holding the cereal box in her paralyzed arm. Fear's voice sounded… wrong. She knew, all five emotions (and Logic) had voices that sounded pretty similar to each other, and to Sarah, although with key differences. Normally, Fear sounded a bit bubbly, nasally, almost nerdy. Her voice could have belonged to a cartoon character (Fear had made that joke herself). Now, the words Fear used were like a satin gag fastening itself around Joy's mouth. Smooth, delicate, cool, and rendering her incapable of speech.

Joy could hear Fear standing up and approaching. "What's wrong, darling?" she asked softly, gingerly stroking Joy's cheek with one finger. "Don't you recognize your old friend Fear? Or perhaps you've forgotten the agreement we made last night…"

The memory returned in full force.

"Crumpets," Joy muttered under her breath. "It wasn't a dream."

Fear - not Fear, Terror - chuckled lightly. "Well, I can see where that idea popped into your head. Darkness does have a certain… magic of its own. Clipping apart the very fabric of reality. Blurring the line between what you see and what you think and what you see, until you are no longer able to tell what is real and what is not. I can assure you, I am very real. I'll let you eat, and then it's off to work we go…" With a wicked smirk and a sophisticated wave, Terror stood and left through the elevator.

Joy put the cereal box back. She wasn't hungry anymore.

* * *

Sarah turned from one side to another, stretching her neck and back as she sat up in her bed. What time was it? Her clock wasn't working, so she'd have to go downstairs to see. At any rate, the sun had risen, casting tiny slivers of light through her Venitian blinds and onto her butterfly curtains. The house was quiet, meaning Kate and Elizabeth were still fast asleep, thank goodness.

She had so much to do today. Read a book, write a story, practice her music, do her homework...

A beautiful Saturday morning. Anything could happen today. Anything…

A chill gripped Sarah's heart as she thought of this normally encouraging mantra. _Anything could happen…_

* * *

"Whazup whazup whazup? Elemasters in da house!" Joy turned around just in time to see Alex sauntering into the main control room. Hot on his trail were Colleen, burying her face in her hand, Caleb, making a desperate but futile attempt to hold down a giggle fit, and Maddie, her cheeks so red they could have been sunburned. Joy couldn't help but let out a few snickers of her own. The Emasters couldn't have come at a more perfect time. All day, she'd been keeping up the appearance of normalcy while still letting Terror maintain a constant presence at the console, making most of the day's memories tinged with lavender. Only a trained eye could tell the difference from normal memories, but Joy's eye had been well trained. She knew that being constantly on edge was going to change Sarah eventually, heck, she was feeling on edge! Now, she could finally reveal the secrets of the previous night to a willing ally.

"We can't take him anywhere," Maddie groaned, rolling her eyes.

Terror gave a cutesy smile and said in a perfect imitation of Fear's voice, "Good to see you, too!" Somehow, this scared Joy more than anything else she'd seen or heard.

Logic pressed the Time Freeze button, and the images on the monitor froze completely. "We'll reconvene in… half an hour? Does that work for everybody?"

"Works for me," said Disgust, grabbing Colleen's arm. "Come on, Colleen, you're coming with me. When was the last time you did your hair?"

"I'm not gonna answer that," Colleen snarked, rolling her eyes but following Disgust.

 _Now's my chance_ , Joy thought, locking eyes with Caleb. "Hey, Caleb!" she said enthusiastically, making an attempt to mask her uneasiness. "I found a new song on Music Island I think you'll like, come on!"

"Way ahead of you, Starburst!" Caleb was already halfway up the ramp as Joy ran over. _Oh, those freakishly long legs… all part of his charm, I guess._

* * *

"Busy night?" Caleb inquired as he glanced at the scattered cards and the torn dress in Joy's room. Joy nodded, concentrated as she was with setting up her CD player. Caleb nudged the cards into a pile with his feet. Clearly, there was a story behind the state of Joy's room. And if he loved anything, it was a good story - or a good song, like the one Joy would soon share with him. Caleb slapped on a happy grin and sat himself down on Joy's bed, ready to be serenaded. Soon enough, a lively electric guitar riff hit his eardrums with surprising force. Before he could open his mouth to comment, Joy turned back to him with an expression of serious concern darkening her bright features.

"There's another reason I wanted to get you down here," she explained in a whisper. "I'm in serious danger, but I can't tell any of the other emotions about this."

"And I'm not an emotion, I'm a Character," Caleb continued, lowering his volume to match hers.

"Right. I should probably start from the beginning. Yesterday, Anger was getting Sarah in trouble again, and Logic had just about had enough, so she sent her to the Subconscious for the rest of the day. With me so far?"

Caleb, nodded, wondering where Joy was going with this.

"So she came back right before Sarah went to sleep last night, no harm, no foul. Fear wanted to spend the night in my room, and of course, I said yes. But then she started getting all panicky, hiding in the wardrobe. Anger came down here, grabbed her, took her and me up to the main control room." Joy paused, breathing heavily.

Caleb leaned in a little closer. "Go on," he urged.

"You won't believe me," Joy sighed.

Caleb laughed, "Joy, I live in Imagination Land. The theme song you guys gave me is "It's Possible". Try me."

Joy nodded, trembling more with every breath she took. "Okay. I'll keep this short, so I don't have to think about it more than necessary. So, turns out there was someone already there. She looked just like Fear, but… darker, I guess. She said her name was Terror, and she tried to merge herself with Fear. Apparently, Anger had done that with someone called Rage, and become Hatred. I tried to stop her, but I couldn't. She sent Fear to the Subconscious. She's taking her place, and she's blackmailing me into superseding control of my girl. She's changing things already, I know it."

Caleb tried to respond, but the words caught in his vocal cords. "Well," he finally managed.

"Do you believe me?" Joy pleaded.

Caleb shook off his shock and chuckled, "I don't see any reason not to believe you. You've never lied to me before."

"So you'll help me?"

"Well, this is Terror we're talking, so I know only about as much as you do. But tell you what. If things get worse for you over here, give me a call and I'll make sure you have a place to stay in Imagination Land, at least until all this blows over. And I won't tell a soul about this. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Joy smiled once again, a shaky but genuine smile. "Thank you so much, Caleb," she said as she hugged him. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Anytime, Sunshine," Caleb giggled as he let her hug him. "Anytime."

* * *

Logic drummed her fingers on the rim of the console, letting her mind wander while everyone else was taking their little break. Alex and Anger were yelling at each other - over something trivial, no doubt - while Sadness and Maddie were having a calmer discussion, probably about a book. Fear, on the other hand, was alone, by the core memory podium. Logic watched her out of the corner of her eye as she picked up a Core Memory. The solid blue one, the one connected to Greif Island. That one had been fading recently, so small wonder Fear was checking on it. She was likely keeping some sort of record about the memory's deterioration. Fear put the memory back after holding onto it for a second or so - rather tightly, though, as if it were about to slip out of her grasp. That was unusual. While it was certainly difficult to handle more than one Core Memory at once, Logic had discovered, through experimentation, that the same force that held the emotions' particles together helped them keep their grip on memories. The phenomenon was surprisingly similar to static electricity.

When Fear put the Core Memory back in its spot, Logic noted a slight change, only visible to someone seeking it. A slight sliver of the memory had turned purple. That gave Logic pause. There was no reason for it to have changed. Granted, certain memories could turn colors when touched by a specific emotion. For example, thanks to Disgust, most of Sarah's memories of elementary school had at least some green. Fear was careful about touching memories she knew she could turn, which were almost always related to past experiences that related to present fears. This did not apply to the Greif Island Core Memory. Fear had held it in the past, with no effect. How had she been able to change it now?

Now that Logic really put some thought into it, Fear had been acting strangely all day. She had never been the most social of emotions, but had barely spoken to anyone today. Anger had been the exception to that behavior. Fear and Anger had been whispering to each other intermittently throughout the day, when they thought no one had been looking. Logic had been unable to overhear their conversations, but they usually ended with a satisfied smile on the face of Fear. And despite Fear's apparent unwillingness to be social, she had spent an awful lot of time at the console. No matter the situation, Fear had found some way to get involved with the goings-on. The memories of the day were overwhelmingly purple, along with their normal assortment of colors, and a surprisingly low amount of yellow.

Speaking of which, Joy had also been acting strangely. She'd behaved more like a Fear than a Joy, constantly glancing around Headquarters, pushing buttons and levers with a great deal less energy than normal. She'd also taken this opportunity to dash away with Caleb to her private bedroom. Normally, she was so eager to spend time with Sarah that she never left the main control room during 'work hours', even while Time Freeze was active. Besides, there had been no new output from Music Island for weeks. Caleb didn't know that, but Logic did.

Something fishy was going on in Headquarters. Logic was going to figure it out before she went to bed, or else she was losing her touch.

* * *

The doors burst open. Ecstasy looked up from her paperwork. Mr. Grinch had stormed into the hotel lobby, carrying a large sack of some sort. "I need a place to dump this," he demanded. "What rooms are available?"

Ecstasy nudged open the hotel registar, frantically flipping through it until a vacancy caught her eye. "Will room eleven-thirteen work?"

"Wonderfully." The Grinch made for the stairway. Ecstasy could have sworn she heard a moan coming from the sack.

"If you don't mind me asking," she ventured, "what are you bringing up there."

"None of your business," the Grinch snapped before disappearing into the stairwell. Ecstasy stood there, staring after him, gathering her thoughts.

That dream she'd had last night - the angel - no, Joy - she'd said that there was going to be someone coming to the Subconscious. _You'll know her when you see her._ Ecstasy thought she had seen her. But so many questions remained: who was she? Why was she here? Why was the Grinch being so huffy about it? How come she'd never heard anything about it?

Everything was about to change, right here, right now. Ecstasy could feel it.


	7. Chapter 7: Questions, Comments, Concerns

"Don't you dare poke me!"

 _Colleen is totally getting poked_ , thought Caleb with a quick and quiet grin as he stared out the window of the Train of Thought's passenger car. Beside him, Maddie had whipped out her personal copy of _The Neptune Project_ , now completely engrossed within the sci-fi novel. Behind them, Colleen and Alex were getting into one of their IBSs - Inevitable Bicker Sessions. Nothing out of the ordinary.

On the outside, at least.

A million thoughts buzzed through Caleb's consciousness, mostly concerned with that conversation he'd had with Joy. Poor Joy. Her normally bouncy, boisterous voice had reduced itself to a mere whisper as she regaled him with the previous night's events. Those enormous blue eyes of hers had seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment. Caleb couldn't bring himself to blame her for acting so OOC. After all, Terror was no laughing matter. His hearing, supernaturally enhanced by his status as Airmaster, had caught many a little Mind Worker or child Character whimpering over her appearance in their nightmares; older Mind Workers often threatened their naughty progeny with a visit from her.

He'd never believed the stories. Maybe it was naivete, but he didn't think something so… unsettling could exist in such a pure mind as his Narrator's. He and Alex had often shared a laugh at Terror's expense.

But Joy - probably the being with the most power in the entire mind - displaying such submission over Terror… that put a whole new spin on things. Terror was clearly real. She was tangible. And worst of all, she'd been under his nose the entire time.

So why hadn't he offered more than a promise of potential safety to Joy?

He could have invited her back to Imagination Land with him. He could have allowed her the use of his powers. Heck, he could have called out Terror himself and ended the whole thing then and there. Except he hadn't. Why?

This was the question that gnawed at him, even as his face remained as blank as he could make it. Caleb knew the answer, although he didn't necessarily like it.

Caleb may have been Joy's friend. He may have been a powerful guardian of one of the core physical concepts of the universe. But, first and foremost, Caleb was a Character. And a Character's first instinct was self-preservation.

Characters had a lot thrown at them by their Narrators on a day-to-day basis. A Character's plot could take an unexpected swerve, or their backstory could be completely wiped and replaced, or a heavy helping of angst could be added to their personality. Characters weren't supposed to complain about these changes. A Character who did was doomed to a minor role, possibly a death. Alex had nearly been consigned to such a fate by protesting actions he was being forced to take. Caleb had seen Characters go. Most often kicking and screaming, dragged into the Subconscious by security guards until they faded from Sarah's mind entirely. Caleb and his Elemaster friends were made of sterner stuff. They were Protagonists. All a Protagonist was expected to do was weather the challenges facing them with a stiff upper lip and help from friends.

Based on what Joy had told him, Terror was pretty good at reading people. If he had offered any sort of assistance to Joy, Terror would have known, and he would be her next target. He couldn't do that. He needed to be there. For Joy - and for Sarah.

Knowing that didn't make Caleb feel any better about his lack of action, but it did make him realize that he was never going to be able to keep this to himself. He remembered clear as day what he had told Joy: he wouldn't tell a soul. He'd even Pinkie Promised. Unfortunately, Caleb had recently gained an interesting character tic - the inability to keep a secret. Maybe Joy had forgotten in her state of panic, or maybe she was secretly hoping he'd spread the word and get more people on her side. Nevertheless, if Caleb didn't tell someone about the events, he was going to go full hurricane.

Well, he could already fly, and a cupcake to the eye didn't sound too bad.

Caleb glanced over at Maddie. Now there was a girl who could keep a secret for more than an hour. If Caleb told her exactly what was going on, he could be sure it would remain between them. And now would be a pretty good time. Colleen and Alex were shouting at each other by this point. If they kept things quiet, they could speak unimpeded.

"Psst - Maddie?" Caleb whispered in a barely audible voice.

"Hm?" Maddie looked up from her book.

"Notice anything… off about Fear today?"

"No, she seemed pretty normal," Maddie whispered back, seemingly catching on to Caleb's air of secrecy.

"Keyword seemed. Joy told me what's really going on. That wasn't Fear, Mads. It was just a really good actor known as Terror."

Maddie's eyes widened until they looked like Joy's. "You're kidding."

"Don't I wish. I thought Joy was kidding, but she seemed pretty scared, and there's not a lot that can phase her."

"I know." Maddie sighed. "How is that even possible? Oh, poor Joy…"

"Pity her not, but lend thy serious hearing to what I shall unfold," Caleb interrupted, patting himself on the back for a successful Shakespeare quotation. He repeated Joy's story, from Anger's Subcon sentencing to Fear's, condensing as much as possible without leaving out important details. Maddie's countenance grew more and more horrified as the tale went on.

Finally, Caleb came to an ending point. The Water- and Airmasters remained silent as the other two continued to shout at each other in the backseat.

Maddie was the first to break the silence. "So what can we do about it?" she whispered.

"Not much," Caleb was forced to admit. "All I could really do was offer Joy sanctuary in Imagination Land if worse really does come to worse."

"I think that's going to be helpful enough," said Maddie with a smile.

Caleb smiled back. "Thanks, girl. So, do you think I should reserve the max-security suite at Possibility Estates, or set up an extra hammock in my courtyard? It's easily defendable, especially now that I'm working on that force-field thing."

"Both good ideas," said Maddie. "Why don't you give Lerin a visit and ask if there's any room in the Humanal facility? It's even more max-security than the suite."

"Ooh, good call! Or I could even set her up on an extended trip via the Worlds Beyond Express!"

"Set who up, lovebirds?" came Alex's teasing tone from behind them. Caleb must have been getting loud.

"Look who's talking!" Caleb quipped back. "You and Cee are fighting like an old married couple!"

"Eww, gross!" Alex made a disgusted face. "I don't even like her like that! I'm gay, remember?"

"He's not wrong," Colleen said sharply, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

He is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Close one," Maddie whispered as the fight continued. "I'm… I'm glad you told me about this, Caleb. I hope we can help Joy if Terror makes Headquarters unlivable - although I really hope she doesn't."

"I think…" Caleb sighed. "I think that's all we can do right now. Oh, remind me to grab a cupcake when we get back."

Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I'm allowed to be hungry, aren't I?"

* * *

Sarah snuggled beneath her covers, holding Tilly the tiger close to her heart. Nothing had seemed to go right today. No matter what she had done, there had always been that underlying fear that it hadn't been done right. Sure, she'd managed to keep a smile - but what if everyone had seen through it? What if everyone already knew what kind of a person she really was.

 _Just go to sleep_ , she told herself. _It'll be all better in the morning._

* * *

"Say, Fear, are you all right?" Terror turned to see Logic at her side as they dug through their lockers, stowing things away as everything would down for the night.

Terror managed to put on the slight smile that Fear so often sported as she responded, "Who, me? I, uh, I've never been better! Why do you ask?"

Logic's grey eyes narrowed. "You're not telling the truth. Why are you acting so distant today?"

"Distant? What do you mean? This is how I normally act."

"I mean - ah, forget it. I'm not getting a straight answer out of you." Logic turned on her heel and left the locker corner.

"Finally. I thought they'd never leave," Hatred groaned as she approached her locker. "Can't believe how chatty Disgust can get."

"Indeed." Now that it was just herself and her partner, Terror allowed her disguise to melt away. A dream began to play on the viewscreen. Something about a tropical island with a seagull that was turning into a rabbit. Barely paying attention to the dream, Terror seated herself in the central chair, drumming her fingers on the edge of the console. "Would you mind telling me more about that button Logic utilized when the Elemasters paid a visit?" she asked offhandedly.

"Oh yeah, Time Freeze," said Hatred just as nonchalantly. "Honestly, you'd have to ask Logic for the full deets. I don't really know how it works myself."

"Give me your best attempt."

"Okay… it's pretty new, only showed up on the last console update. Logic's the only one it'll respond to. When she presses it, time stops moving outside of the mind, and we can leave the console and do whatever. Another press, time unfreezes. Oh, and it moves around constantly. Only Logic knows its exact location at a given time, so we can't just use Instant Logic to push it whenever we're bored."

"Instant Logic… you wouldn't be referring to the jar of silver glitter in the storage closet, would you?"

"That's it. Joy came up with the idea. It's a little complicated, but we basically combine broken pieces of old memories with what Joy calls "emotional essence" - it's what passes for blood in us. If you sprinkle a bit on the console, it triggers a reaction of that emotion."

"I see. And you don't use this very often?"

"Nah, just for emergencies."

Terror grinned, far wider and more genuine than earlier. "This could prove very useful indeed… it's almost as if I was supposed to take over. Everything's falling into place. I think a few more days ought to do the trick, a week at most. Oh, and we'll need to have our reinforcements on standby…"

* * *

"Joy, may we converse?"

Joy knew that tone of voice all too well. It was the tone Logic used when she suspected a secret was being kept from her. That tone had nearly ruined her surprise party plans for Sadness, had forced Fear into a sobbing mess over a missing game piece, had even garnered a slap from Disgust. If Logic was suspicious, there was no way Joy could keep this hidden any longer. She slapped on a big grin and replied, "Sure! Come on in!"

Logic left the elevator, the doors closing behind her, and took a deep breath. A single inhale, a single exhale. Uh oh. This was gonna be a bombshell.

"I need you to tell me the truth, Joy. Fear, Anger, and especially you are all acting oddly - don't try to deny it. I can tell when you aren't yourself. It's no use keeping secrets from me. Just tell me what's going on."

"I… I…" Joy sputtered, trying to gather up the right words for an explanation. Nothing seemed to come. "I can't!" she finally said in a burst of an emotion that was not of her essence.

Logic raised a curious eyebrow. "And why is that? What's stopping you?"

"I'm not supposed to tell the other emotions," Joy whimpered.

Logic smirked. "Perhaps the fact has slipped your mind, but let me replace it. I am not an emotion. The only reason I'm here instead of somewhere in Long-Term Memory is that Sarah has Asperger's Syndrome. I may work alongside the emotions, and the console responds to my touch, but I am not of the same essence as you. Whatever it is you can't tell the others, there's nothing stopping you from telling me."

Joy's storm of feelings began to subside upon hearing Logic's explanation. "You're right. You're so right. I should have thought of that sooner…"

"Just spit it out, Joy."

"All right, all right, Logic. Here's the truth. The truth is… that's not Fear and Anger up there. That's Terror and Hatred."

There was a pause as Logic's eyes widened in realization, as all the pieces snapped together. "Of course. I should have recognized it sooner. Do you know where Fear is? Has she been Merged yet?"

Joy shook her head. "No, she's been sent to the Subconscious. I might be next."

"That's all I need to know. Thank you for trusting me, Joy. Come, sit down. Let's make a plan. The sooner Terror is out of Headquarters, the better."

"And what if your plan fails?"

"We'll plan for that, too."

For the first time since breakfast, Joy genuinely smiled.

* * *

Fear couldn't breathe.

Not very deeply, anyway.

Her breaths were short and quick, only taking in and expelling about a mouthful of air each. _Huffpuffhuffpuffhuffpuff_ , they went. Her heart was keeping perfect time with her lungs, maybe even faster. She was curled up in a ball on the neatly made (if dusty from lack of use) bed, tightly hugging her legs and rocking ever-so-slightly back and forth. Her eyes frantically scanned the room for a light, an exit, anything to end this nightmare. There was none. Only darkness surrounded her. Darkness… and endless whispers.

How long had she been down here? There was no way of telling. The clock on the nightstand had long since ceased its duty. It could have been minutes, hours, days, weeks since she had been unceremoniously dumped in this dark, dusty hotel room. She'd barely moved a muscle since coming to. Not that she'd needed to.

The door creaked open. Fear's hurried breaths stopped completely as she was jolted away from her scattered thoughts. Who was coming for her? She hadn't seen anyone's face since the Grinch's, and that had been for a matter of seconds as he had sneered at her on his way out. The isolation had been terrifying… but whoever was coming could potentially be even worse.

The face that appeared from behind the door was slightly familiar to Fear. Yellow particles, almost perfectly round head, bright blue eyes…

"Joy?" Fear whispered, allowing a single glimmer of hope to slip into her pounding heart.

She shook her head, but her eyes grew a little bit brighter. "You know Joy?"

Fear nodded, taking in every movement this newcomer made. The girl quietly slipped into the room, closing the door behind her.

"I'm not Joy, but I know her," the girl explained softly, delicately. "I saw her in a dream last night. She told me to tell you that she's doing everything she can to get you back where you belong. She'll just need a little time."

Fear unwrapped her arms from her legs, daring to smile just a little. "That does sound like Joy," she admitted. "You must be her Extreme? Ecstasy, right?"

The girl nodded. "How did you know?" she asked with a quiver to her voice that Fear knew all too well.

Fear uncurled her legs, feeling significantly calmer. Based on her readings, she knew she could trust Ecstacy. "I read about you in the Mind Manual covering the Subconscious. You and Joy must be undergoing a Mind Merge. I read about those, too. I'm Fear, by the way…"

Ecstacy nodded, then sighed. "Do you have any idea how much danger we're both in?"

Fear was forced to shake her head. "I really don't. But I get the feeling we're going to find out whether we want to or not."

"I have to ask," said Ecstacy quietly, as if afraid to offend Fear, "how do you deal with it all?"

"Deal with what all?"

"Being afraid… of everything…"

Fear had to giggle at that. "I may be a Fear," she said with a slight smirk, "but that doesn't mean I can't relax. Tell you what - do you know where I could get a guitar around here?"

Ecstacy nodded solemnly.

"You get it up here, and I'll show you exactly how I like to relax after a long day. Does that sound fair?"

"Very."

"Alright. Oh, one more thing before you go?"

"What is it?"

"Would you mind leaving the door open?"

That gave Ecstacy pause. "I'm… technically not supposed to…"

"It's not like I can get out of here anyway," Fear argued.

"Well, all right," said Ecstacy with a sigh. "I'll be right back with the guitar." With that, she opened the door once more, neglecting to close it as she stepped out of the room.

Fear's heart rate began to quicken its pace once more, but the smile that had found its way onto her face persisted. Ecstasy seemed nice. If she was anything like Joy, then she was probably genuine about anything she said. It was going to be nice to have someone like Ecstacy by Fear's side during her prison sentence.

If Fear didn't know better, she'd say she was making a new friend.


End file.
